Quarterfinal action at the Rome Masters is headlined by an intriguing showdown between Novak Djokovic and Holger Rune. Casper Ruud and Francisco Cerundolo are also taking the court on Wednesday, looking for a spot in the last four.
(1) Novak Djokovic vs. (7) Holger Rune
Djokovic and Rune will be going head-to-head for the third time in their careers when they clash in the quarterfinals of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia on Wednesday. They have split their two previous meetings; Djokovic prevailed 6-1, 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-1 at the 2021 U.S. Open before Rune famously triumphed 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 in the final of the 2022 Paris Masters.
The latter result makes this rematch especially popcorn worthy, as Rune certainly won’t lack belief. The 20-year-old Dane has remained in impressive form this season, with a 25-9 record that has him up to No. 7 in the world. So far in Rome he has defeated Arthur Fils, Fabio Fognini, and Alexei Popyrin, dropping just one set to Popyrin in the process. Djokovic has also lost only one set while beating Tomas Martin Etcheverry, Grigor Dimitrov (in three), and Cameron Norrie. This will likely be a competitive contest, but Djokovic should be improving with three matches under his belt and a three-hour battle followed by no days of rest isn’t ideal preparation for Rune–who has had stamina issues in the past.
Pick: Djokovic in 3
(4) Casper Ruud vs. (24) Francisco Cerundolo
Ruud may be rounding into form just in time for the French Open, where he has runner-up points to defend. The fourth-ranked Norwegian had a 5-6 record going into the European clay-court swing, which he opened with a title in Estoril. However, he promptly followed that up with early losses in Monte-Carlo, Barcelona, and Madrid. Ruud appears to be back on track with Rome victories over Arthur Rinderknech, Alexander Bublik (7-0 in a third-set tiebreaker), and Laslo Djere.
Up next for the 24-year-old is Cerundolo, who leads the head-to-head series 2-1–including 2-0 on clay. After Ruud got the job done at the 2022 Miami Open, Cerundolo won 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 a few months later in Bastad and 7-6(5), 6-3 earlier this spring in Barcelona. The 31st-ranked Argentine is a decent 17-12 this year and has advanced in Rome by defeating Yibing Wu, Gregoire Barrere, and Jannik Sinner–all in three sets. Ruud, who dropped only four total games on Tuesday, will have revenge on his mind and should be able to take it against a potentially fatigued opponent.
Pick: Ruud in 3
WWW?
Francisco Cerundolo wiped out my bracket by beating Sinner, so I picked Casper Ruud in 3.
Go, Casper!
My bracket pick is Novak over Holger Vitus Nodskov Rune, and it might not be easy to beat HVNR. So, Novak in 3.
Both should be good matches. I will say Novak and Rudd in 3
Rune in 3
Ruud in 3
Bump
The correlation between Djokovic losing and having health issues is 0.99.
But he still looks and plays like a perfectly healthy person.
Those acting lessons paid dividends.
He might still be injured from getting hit with the tennis ball by Cam Norrie.
He needed help to get back in the match.. clap clap
Not me
and all of a sudden Djokovic comes to life. How many times have we seen this script?
The dummies fall for it time and time again.
Thats not What happened monkey.. Nobody is falling for it. But like the rest of the “big” players they get help
I forgot, you support deception.
You’re well aware of Djokovic’s antics but you support him anyway.
Which means you stand for evil and unfairness in the world.
Which is no surprise given you come from a country that idolizes the top 1% in a broken system.
Not me
That ball was so far out
Not me
Rune is getting a massage now, and he just needed some time to vent his frustration, I hope.
Mental time out for both. And it’s raining.
That was a magic dropshot by Rune
💪
Not me
Only saw some of that but, while Rune was very good I thought Novak did not play well. Commies said afterwards won’t affect prospects for RG. It’s true that BO5 favours Novak. But I have a lot of question marks about how he is playing. Was very poor in Monte Carlo. Didn’t play Madrid. Now out in quarters and seemed very out of sorts. I don’t see him winning RG without quite a lot of luck.
Yes, I agree about Novak. I don’t feel bad for him, but I think he has a weak stomach, GERD, or maybe even UC. I first had problems in college/nursing school: my personality/need for perfection caused anxiety and stress. I was nauseated and in pain until I was prescribed medication and changed my diet.
He had to find a place to vomit in one of his matches this week, and I think he needs something for it. I take Prilosec for my GERD daily, and the purple pill does the trick, but Tums and Peptobismal before there was Prilosec. I should get paid for this advertising.
I am watching the WTA QFs. Ostapenko/Badosa
Happy for Holger Rune 😀
I am going to the WTA page to comment on the QFs.
Weak stomach? Looked and played like fully healthy person to me.
Stop doing he dirty work for others
Cerundolo breaks. This match is pretty dull. Want to watch Iga play Elena..
About to get broken…
Amen, Amy. I want to see Iga and Elena, and it must be late for Rome. At least it stopped raining. The x-ray of my broken foot is more interesting than this.
Tired of listening to People’s excuses all the time. Novak was fine, he lost to a better player today end of discussion. How many times does Rune have to do it for you to realize..
Why are you hounding me, Anon? Stop being so hateful. I didn’t choose to be born in America. There are many places I would have chosen over this one and many that could be a lot worse. I did nothing to you. Get over it.
Amy, it’s time for me to leave this thread. I will be upstairs on the WTA page.
Cowardly Anons
Ok see you on the WTA page! Glad that match is over. Not fun to watch!
Ruud is a nice guy. But he loves to rabbit on…
Not me
FFS this is a tennis site, not an echo chamber.